Press Release: May 17, 2002
Council Votes to Investigate McDonald's At LAX
Action Comes in Response to New Study Documenting Serious Labor, Health and Safety Violations at Fast Food Giant, Which Also Owes City Millions

The City Council today moved to investigate the McDonald's franchises at LAX. The action follows the release of a report last week by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) documenting serious labor, health and safety problems at the fast-food giant's airport locations.

After hearing testimony from McDonald's workers, the Council ordered a report from the city attorney on the actions it can take in response to the violations. The Council also adopted an amendment requesting that the County Health Department immediately investigate conditions at McDonald's, and that the Airport Commission investigate McDonald's and report to the Council on implementing a worker complaint process.

"We are pleased that the Council has taken decisive action to address the extremely serious problems at the LAX McDonald's franchises, " said Madeline Janis-Aparicio, executive director of LAANE. "Businesses that contract with the city must be held accountable for their actions, and we hope this process leads to a full investigation of this company's conduct."

The LAANE study A Study in Corporate Irresponsibility: McDonalds Corporations Operations at LAX reveals that McDonald's workers at LAX report dangerous working conditions, wage and hour violations, threats of termination after injuries and illness, and sexual harassment. Consumers have potentially been put at risk by numerous past violations of health regulations, while McDonald's has withheld nearly $4.4 million in concession fees, according to airport records.

McDonald's has four franchises at LAX, According to media reports, the company is seeking an extension of its lucrative contract, which currently runs through 2005.

The LAANE report, based on a review of public records, corporate documents, interviews and newspaper articles, includes the following findings:

• Inspections of McDonald's four LAX restaurants by the County Department of Health Services reveal numerous violations of health and safety codes, including several instances of food being condemned, a waste water flood, storage of food items and kitchen utensils on the floor, repeated cases of potential contamination of food and open chemical containers near food.
• Employees of LAX McDonald's have filed claims with state and federal agencies reporting dangerous working conditions, including a lack of floor mats, support belts and first-aid kits. Workers report having to resort to home remedies using restaurant supplies, such as putting mustard on burns or coffee grounds on cuts.
• Employees injured on the job at McDonald's LAX state that they were forced to return to work against doctors' advice. Workers who were sick or had family emergencies were told they would be fired if they didn't come to work. One worker who had been in an accident, and whose son remained in the hospital, was threatened with dismissal because her doctor's note covered only her son.
• Several employees of McDonald's LAX are preparing to file state and federal claims alleging sexual harassment by a McDonald's manager. Management was initially unresponsive, then transferred the manager to another LAX location but has recently returned him to his original location.

"McDonald's LAX apparently doesn't care if its hard-working employees are smiling," said Maria Elena Durazo, president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 11. "It's time for this corporation, and every other LAX employer, to guarantee quality jobs and decent working conditions."

In addition to the labor, health and safety issues, the LAANE report also found that since May 2000, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has attempted to collect from McDonald's Corporation $843,742 in concession fees that an audit determined were owed for the year 1997. For fifteen months, McDonald's ignored requests to take the actions necessary to resolve the issue.

Further public records research now shows that McDonald's owes the city an additional $3.5 million in concession fees, bringing the total of unpaid fees to nearly $4.4 million.

"Our report and subsequent revelations offer overwhelming evidence that McDonald's has flouted its concession agreement with Los Angeles World Airports, has put LAX customers at risk and has subjected its workers to intolerable conditions," said Janis-Aparicio, "The behavior of McDonald's at LAX is a microcosm of its troubling conduct worldwide, and raises serious questions about whether LAX should maintain a relationship with this corporation."